St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-15
Now Working in the East, to
Abolish the Carload Rate
System.
Mississippi Valley Jobbers
Protest to the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
Yesterdays Important Ses-
sion at Minneapolis--The
Milwaukee Case Still Up.


load rates; and that fact drew large
delegation of interested shippers to the
chamber of commerce; but the commits
sion was not ready for it. The Milwau-
kee road was still on the brOiler, the
complainants being the boards of trade
of Pennington, Northfeld, Faribault
and Owatonna. Their allegation is that
their localities are Disseminated against
in favor of st. Paul and Minneapolis, in
that the Milwaukee road charges ~
cents per 100 for wheat in car loads from
Minneapolis. st. Paul. Minnesota Trans
fer. Saltwater and Eau Claire to all
points north of and including Sabula
and to all points in Illinois and in Wis
conSin except points on the Wisconsin
Valley division from RunkelS to Mer-
rick, incluSive: and that it charges is
cents per 100 for wheat in ear loads
from Pennington. Dundas, Mortified,
Faribault and Owatonna to all points
mentioned, except points between La
Cross and Chicago. and 1512 cents from
all said points of departure to all points
on the La Crosse and Chicago division;
and therefore charges more for a short
than long haul, cOntemp0raneouSly,
and in the same direction, when the
short haul is included in the long one.
The petition alleges that this is uni uSt
discrimination and has compelled the
closing down of the Touring mills, which
formed the principal business interest
of the towns mentioned. The kernel of
the complaint is that points OH the River
division have fiat rate of X cents,
while points on the Iowa and Minnesota
division pay fiat rate OF just twice as
much.
ENFORCED BY COMPETITION.
a. ID. Reyes appeared for the COM
claimants and elaborated the grievance.
giving the capacity of the several mills
which he claimed had been shut down by
the rate discrimination. j. c. Boyden.
general northwestern freight agent of
the Milwaukee, was put Oh the stand
and subjected to long examination by
Mr.. Keys. He again went over the
subject of competition which effected
those lines now getting the benefit OF
the short rates. Everything going east
from Minneapolis by the river division
was subject to competition by the
in both directions. Farmers shipping
from Minneapolis got the benefit Of
competitive rates, while the others..did
not. The mills at the complaining
points have the benefits of the milling
in transit rates at Minneapolis and
always have had, for seven years. Mr..
BOyden did not regard the ID cent rate
as unjust, relatively, but continually re-
ferred to the ~ rate, fiat, along the
river, as too low, though the result of
competition. Questioned in regard to
the closing of the mill at Northfield, he
said it was because the owner lost his
money as many others had, which was,
he laconically remarked, because
gard to the ~ cut rates,
he did not know that the company made
any profit on it, but did not believe
there were any losses. This year par
ticularly he did not think there was any
cause for complaint against the grain
rate along the points named, as there
was no crop to move. Mr.. Keyes adj
mitted this, remarking
THE CHINCH BUGS
had moved all the wheat and had milled
it in transit, too. Mr.. Hanson took Mr..
ton brought out the reason for the ~
cent rate, which he said was plaStered
all over Southeastern Minnesota, North
western Iowa and Southern Wisconsin.
He showed the competition by the Bur
lington along the river, the water route
generally, and the Omaha from all
points about Eau Claire and Chippewa
Falls. The Burlington had set the ~
cent rate, paralleling the Milwaukee
along the river for the long distance.
The old question: came up and the an
asked if the Iowa & Minnesota division
was not the first line, and if it
had not been built ON land
grants. II really can't say" responded
Mr.. Boyden, ''but my recollection is the
men who got the land grants sold outthe
road" ''Why don't you ship our wheat
by the shortest route through Du-
buque?' you'll have to ask the OPP
Grating department." MIR. Boyden was
asked why the complaining millers
could not use their surplus transit to
other points, and replied that if they
could not, it was not discrimination.
as no one else could do it, it being de-
parture from the transit contract. Cues
tons by members of the commission de-
veloped the fact that the % cent milling
in transit rates through Minneapolis,
was subject to a merely arbitrary di-
vision of IKE and nc at Minneapolis,
brought about by the competition which
runs from Minneapolis eastward. This
nc rate East becomes the local rate
east of Minneapolis, on the river divis-
ion, where the competition continues,
but does not affect the Iowa IL Mime
sofa division, which is not subject to
this competition.
TESTIMONY OF MIILERs.
f. A. Vean, a miller at Faribault, tes-
titled that the difference between the
~ and ID cent fiat rates was greater
than the profit in the business. If the
transit were applicable to all their ship
ping points, the situation would be bet
ter, but the difficulty was that on most
points at which he found a market, the
transit did not apply.
George Robinson, also Faribault
miller, testified that three of the six
mills at that place were closed. He had
closed up when the new rates went in
on April 5, and had closed to save his
transit. The difference in rates being
greater than the profit on flour, he could
not compete with Minneapolis and had
to close up. On April he was barred
from using his transit except to Chicago,
and he had no market to Chicago. Mr..
BOyden asked questions to bring out the
fact that wheat at Faribault and ada
cent points can be bought at a price
get it, than the rate between those
points and Minneapolis. This was the
point the road made throughout the en-
tire session, viz: That millers of the
complaining points obtained their wheat
at price SO much below the Mime
apoliS prices, that it more than offset
the difference in railroad rates out.
.. E. Britt, consulting freight agent
of the Milwaukee, submitted an array
of figures bearing on the rates from the
complaining points. He said the freight
traffic of the road for 1856 melted about
sl7.000,00o and the cost about $40, 0OO, 900,
leaving a surplus of s7,000,OOO. The
average cost from Faribault to Chicago
was mills per ton per mile, and, he
said, if the entire business of the Mil
waukee system were conducted on this
same basis, it would return, on its CAPT.
tai, the princely sum of $3.50, 532.
y. T. Archibald, miller of Dundas,